Beauté et le Fantome
by LittleLottexoxEriksTrueAngel
Summary: When Christine and her father get seperated in a forest Christine agrees to become a prisoner to a mysterious masked phantom who lives in a castle within in exchange for her father's freedom. A crossover between various Beauty and The Beast stories and Th
1. Chapter 1

Beauté et le Fantome

Beauty and the Phantom

Chapter One A New Destination

_We rode on in silence to our new destination-a quiet village where every day quiet people lived their lives like the day before. Papa made it sound so boring but truly I didn't care where we lived or how much money we had to buy things. I really never liked getting all done up in fancy dresses, jewels and makeup. I preferred to keep to my studies...read and try to help around the house. I knew that he just wanted me to have the best and that he felt that he wasn't giving me the best, he thought that he had failed as a father, but I didn't think so. When the letter arrived yesterday morning I have to admit I was very shocked and very scared about what fate had in store for my poor father and I. All fears vanished when father said that he still owned a little cottage in a village just outside of Paris and that we were to go there to live. You see my father is a merchant. He mainly shipped musical instruments and such all over the world. Not even a week ago a vicious storm hit destroying all of papa's ships thus the end of his business. After father had paid off all of his debts we had little money left and had to move out of our beautiful estate in the city to ensure our survival. So this morning I bid farewell to my best and only friend Meg and her wonderful family, they had offered to let us stay with them, but father being the noble and proud man he was kindly refused, wanting to make his own way in this world, and returned my book to the library and we left, left the only world I had every known and plunged headfirst into a new life. We had left a few hours ago, stopping once to eat, rest and to give the horses a break. I stared up at the sky, the sun was beginning to set and the colors were magnificent. _

"_Christine, my Beauty we have arrived." Father declared. _

_I shook my head, trying to clear my already tired mind and looked ahead of us. Sure enough there was the village, the village in which I would live until I married. A shiver ran down my spine at the thought of marriage. I had been courted by many men back home, but I turned down all possible suitors. I didn't want a man who only wanted to marry me for my wealth and beauty. Father called me his beauty ever since I was a little girl, then the men who courted me replaced my name for beauty, hoping to win my favor. I was the proper age to marry, and to have children, but I wanted to wait until I found my prince, my night in shining armor like all the princesses did in the stories mother told me at bedtime before she died. I wanted to fall hopelessly in love and live happily ever after but as my Uncle Philippe had said when I was fifteen, "There is no such thing as happily ever after, Christine. There is no such thing as true love…" Now I believed him._

_I was again pulled from my thoughts by the sound of my father's voice and the carriage stopping at the gate. _

"_Bonjour monsieur" father greeted the gate keeper._

"_Bonjour." The gatekeeper greeted "Is there something I can do for you Monsieur, Mademoiselle?"_

"_I am Gustave Daae and this is my daughter Christine Daae. We are here move into the village, to an old family cottage. Could you please inform us of which way road to take to get into the village, it would be greatly appreciated?"_

"_Oui, of course. I was told you would be arriving today. Please forgive my rudeness, my name is Giles Andre. My wife, Cecile, and I live near your new home. It is a pleasure to meet you both." The sound of hooves headed this way was heard and Monsieur Andre turned around to see who it was. "Ah, here comes Richard. Excuse me a moment." He turned and greeted his friend and introduced us. "Monsieur Gustave Daae and his daughter Mademoiselle Christine Daae, Monsieur Richard Firmin, he does the next shift here at the gate. Now then, you must both be anxious to get to home before it gets to late so, take the road on the right all the way to the end and you will see a cluster of cottages, I trust you will know which one is yours." Father nodded to Monsieur Andre before he said, "Thank You Monsieur."_

"_Oh," Monsieur Firmin exclaimed, "We must warn you to be careful around the forest, as a matter of fact don't even go into the forest. Beware le fantome!"_

_Father and I exchanged confused glances before nodding in unison. "Thank you again Monsieur's." Father stated. We only rode a few feet before Monsieur Andre rode up beside our cart. _

"_Wait!" he cried. Father stopped the cart. Andre dismounted his horse and came up to me. "I apologize for interrupting you on your way for I know it is getting late but I forgot to give this to you Mademoiselle." He handed me an envelope with my name written on the front in gold ink. Underneath my name it said 'My Little Lotte'._

"_Who sent this for me?" I inquired_

"_Monsieur le Vicomte."_

"_DeChagny?" I asked_

"_Oui."_

"_Raoul!" I exclaimed happily. Father just smiled._

"_Well I should be getting back. Again, my sincerest apologies for holding the both of you up. Mademoiselle, Monsieur, farewell." _

"_Farewell." Father replied. I had already begun to open the letter. As we rode on I read the letter aloud to my father._

A red scarf…the attic…Little Lottemy dearest Lotte,

I have missed you so. I can't believe that we will finally be able to see each other again. I have heard what happened. I hope you and your father are alright. If you ever need anything please do not hesitate to ask. I will say no more for we will see each other soon.

I remain, Christine, your loving friend,

Raoul

"_Oh Papa, I do hope we see each other soon." I stated after reading the letter._

"_I know, Christine, I know." _

**XX**

_We arrived at the cottage soon. The cottage was beautiful. A small stable was to the right of the cottage and a barn behind it. We unloaded the carriage and unpacked our things into our designated rooms. The view from my window was magnificent. There was a beautiful lake and the forest was behind it. I went back downstairs and helped unpack a few things that belonged downstairs._

"_Beauty," father called. I left the kitchen and father by the door putting on his cape._

"_Where are you going, papa?"_

"_I'm going to the village square to try and get us something to-" He erupted into a fit of coughs._

"_-eat." He finished when the fit was over._

"_And something for that cough." I added_

"_Is there anything else you require, my beauty?"_

"_No, nothing."_

"_Alright, then I will be back as soon as I can." He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and left me alone in the house. _

_I was scared to be in a new home, in a new house, in a new village alone. As I someone read my mind there was a knock on the door. I didn't know if I should answer it. I didn't know anyone here except…Raoul! He said we would see each other soon. Was soon now? I tossed my apron aside and smoothed out my dress before I opened the door._

_A man, about three and a half inches taller than me stood before me. He wore black trousers, black boots and a navy shirt. He appeared to be very muscular and strong. He had long golden blonde hair and beautiful, warm, green eyes. I knew those eyes. I opened my mouth to speak however the man was quicker and spoke first._

"_Christine Daae, where is your scarf?"_

"_Monsieur?"_

"_You can't have lost it. After all the trouble I took. I was just fourteen and soaked to the skin…"_

" _Oh, Raoul, it is you!" _

"_Christine" he murmured as he pulled me into his warm embrace. We laughed and talked for about ten minutes before Raoul had to leave._

"_I really must go Christine. My father needs me home for some company diner. Can I come and see you tomorrow?"_

"_Of course, Raoul. You are always welcome! 'Till tomorrow then." _

"'_Till tomorrow Little Lotte." He said kissing my hand and heading out the door. _

_I sat down at the table in the kitchen and relaxed for a moment before father walked in carrying some bags. We unpacked in a comfortable silence and ate some bread and cheese after that. I retired early after washing the dishes. I dreamt I was a princess…in a dark and mysterious castle…there were candles all around…there was a man but I only saw the back of him...I reached for him but he disappeared and I voice whispered to me as the candles blew out… 'to late, you are to late' _

_I woke up at dawn covered in sweat. Somehow now I had doubts about living in this village, in this cottage, near the forest…_


	2. What is inside the forest?

Beauté et le Fantome

Beauty and The Phantom

Chapter Two "What is inside the forest?"

_**Two Weeks Later**_

_Father and I both adjusted to life here easily. Father bought livestock and seeds with the money we had left. He sold the cow's milk and the chicken's eggs in the village and was also paid to play his violin at parties and other places. Raoul and I spent a lot of time together during the day. After the first few days I had adjusted into a new routine: Wake at dawn, dress, make breakfast for Father and I, clean the cottage, meet Raoul, ride home, cook dinner for Father and I, read, then finally sleep. Today I was to meet Raoul at the lake near the beginning of the forest for a swim; it made me wonder even more about the forest. What was so bad about the forest? Who or what was le Fantome? Was there a monster so bad in that forest? A monster that everyone was afraid of? A monster, I thought to myself, Christine you have to get your heads out of the clouds…out of this fairytale world you have secluded yourself in! This is not one of your fairytales! My mind screamed, this is real life! There are no monsters._

"_There are no monsters…" I murmured to myself. "Maybe there are bears or something in the forest that scared people." I continued this argument with myself as I walked down the path to the river to meet Raoul. We have become closer in these past couple of weeks and spent the days together, going on adventures like we had when we were little children. I smiled when I saw him waving gaily. I ran the rest of the way there. We embraced lightly when I reached him and he smiled down at me. Raoul took my hand possessively into his own (I thought nothing of it at the time) and began leading me the rest of the way to the river._

_As soon as we reached the lake I stripped down to only my corset and chemise and Raoul to his trousers. We grabbed hands and jumped in! We splashed and swam for about an hour or so before sitting down on the grass to enjoy a picnic. _

"_Now, my dear Little Lotte, how long has it been since we have swan together?" Raoul questioned. _

"_I think, good sir, that we haven't swam together since the summer we first met and you rescued my scarf from the sea." I replied with a hint of sarcasm. _

"_Ah, yes, Little Lotte, I remember that day well…I was walking along the beach with my aunt while visiting my grandmother…"_

"_I was walking on the beach with my father when a gust of wind blew my mother's old red scarf into the sea. I had begun to cry, devastated to lose one of the last remaining things of my mother's that I had…"_

_From there Raoul took over again._

"_I watched you drop to the ground sobbing and noticed how you grabbed for the scarf, but it blew to fast. I ran into the sea after it, wanting to make a new friend. I grabbed the scaf and emerged soaked to the skin!"_

"_We played together everyday that summer, from that day on." _

"_The story of Little Lotte." He added with a smile._

"_Little Lotte thought of everything and nothing" I whispered._

"_Little Lotte thought, am I founder of dolls or of goblins or shoes…" Raoul continued._

"_Or of riddles or frocks..."_

"_Or of chocolates?" _

"_Father playing the violin." I said._

"_As we read to each other dark stories of the North." He added._

"_No, what I loved best, Lotte said, is when I'm asleep in my bed, and the Angel of Music sings songs in my head." I whispered excitedly. _

'_The Angel Of Music' I mused. I remember how I used to pray every night for the angel of music to come to me. I still do…but it is useless. He never came…he never comes…there must be no such things as angels…_

_I was shaken from my thoughts when a strange noise came from the forest._

"_What was that?" I asked frightened._

"_Nothing, Christine, 'twas nothing." He paused. "I don't remember you getting scared so easily, Lotte. You were always adventurous." _

"_Well, Monsieur's Andre and Firmin said to stay away from the forest, to beware of le fantome." I shivered at the thought of a phantom being in the forest, it reminded me of the stories of the north that I was scared of. I needed to know what was in the forest so I would feel safe. "What is in the forest, Raoul?"_

"_Well no one quite knows for sure. There used to be a kingdom where the forest is. One day, many years ago, the forest appeared and the kingdom disappeared. They say that the old castle is still there and it is haunted by a beast." My expression changed from a smile to a frown. I stared at Raoul with wide eyes as he continued with his tale. "People say, whoever goes into the forest never comes out; that they are never seen or heard from again." _

_I shivered again as Raoul pulled me into his strong and warm embrace. He leaned his head in towards mine, our lips becoming closer and closer with each passing second. Our lips were about to touch when I heard Papa call my name of in the distance. I pulled away from him abruptly. _

"_Christine!" I heard again, it was my father._

"_Coming Papa!" I shouted in the direction of his voice as I gathered my things._

"_Must you go?" Raoul questioned._

"_Oui, Raoul. It sounds urgent."_

"_Okay, Little Lotte. I will come over tonight. Remember, I promised to show you the bookshop."_

"_That will be wonderful, Raoul. Thank you for today!"_

" '_Twas nothing, Christine." He replied before taking my hand and placing a lingering kiss on top of it. "'Till later then."_

_I nodded in reply and ran up the path towards home failing to realize the gleam in Raoul's eyes and the way he stared after me longingly._

**XX**

_I ran into the house completely out of breath. I found father sitting calmly at the kitchen table. 'What could possibly be wrong now?' I wondered to myself._

"_Papa?" I inquired nervously._

"_I received a letter today, from the city." He replied._

_I pulled out the chair and sat down across from him. Taking his hands in mine I asked, "What did the letter say?"_

"_Some of my companies merchandise has been found. We must go to the city tomorrow."_

"_Oh, Papa that is wonderful!" I exclaimed throwing my arms around him and embracing him tightly._

"_You must pack, Beauty, we are leaving tomorrow at dawn." _

"_Alright." I kissed his cheek and then scurried off upstairs to pack my things._

**XX**

_Later that evening, a knock sounded at the door. I ran down the stairs and opened the door. Sure enough, Raoul was standing there smiling at me. I smiled back as he brought my hand to his lips in another lingering kiss._

"_Papa, I am going out with Raoul for a while." I called pulling my shawl around my shoulders._

"_Alright, my dear, but do not be home to late. Remember, we have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow morning." I nodded._

"_Journey?" Raoul questioned as I closed the door._

"_Oui, we must go to the city tomorrow, Raoul. Some of Father's merchandise has been located, we are staying in the city over night but we will be back home the next day." I explained as we walked down to the market place._

"_This way." Raoul said pointing to a little shop. "That is good news." He added. "I will miss you."_

_I smiled up at him._

_We spent the rest of the night telling stories under the moonlight and at the nest morning Father and I set out for the city._


End file.
